UK will step up pace of admissions for Ukrainian refugees, says Shapps

Labour called for emergency visas for people fleeing the fighting as the Transport Secretary said 760 have been allowed in so far.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps (Aaron Chown/PA)
PA Wire
Gavin Cordon9 March 2022

The Government is stepping up the pace of admissions for refugees fleeing Ukraine, a Cabinet minister has said, amid continued criticism over delays in issuing visas.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps acknowledged there were “lessons to be learned” in its response to the crisis which has seen more than two million people leave the country to escape the Russian invasion.

He said however that the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky wanted as many people as possible to remain in the region so they could quickly return to rebuild the country when it is safe to do so.

“President Zelensky and the Ukrainian government have told me that they do not want people to move far away, if at all possible, from the country, because they want people to be able to come back,” he told Sky News.

“We are really leaning into this, at the same time respecting Ukraine’s wishes, the government’s wishes, not to pull people a long way away from Ukraine.”

(PA Graphics)
PA Graphics

Following fierce criticism from a number of Tory MPs, Mr Shapps said 760 visas have now been granted, with 22,000 applications “on their way through”.

“With 6,000 appointments a day available now, you should see the processing rate increase,” he told BBC Breakfast.

But shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the Government should start issuing emergency visas rather than requiring people to deal with lengthy bureaucracy.

It just beggars belief that people are being asked to do this when they have fled a war zone

Yvette Cooper

“Offer emergency visas that can be issued really swiftly, rather than people having to fill in these 14-page forms or rather than having to upload documents,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“It just beggars belief that people are being asked to do this when they have fled a war zone, when they have had to leave everything behind, when they have been risking life and limb, in the face of Russian bombardment.

“People shouldn’t be treated like this.”

Mr Shapps also defended the decision to site a new visa processing centre in northern France in Lille rather than in Calais, where many of the refugees hoping to reach the UK have been heading.

“We do not want to see this mixed up with the wider issue of people traffickers and criminal gangs in Calais, so we don’t want to attract people to Calais without having the paperwork resolved in the first place before they get there,” he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

(PA Graphics)
PA Graphics

After the Government announced on Tuesday that it was banning imports of Russian oil from the end of the year, Mr Shapps acknowledged it would have an impact on the cost of living in the UK.

In a co-ordinated move, President Joe Biden said the US was stopping oil supply from Russia, while the European Union also announced a phasing out of dependence on Moscow’s energy.

The actions were praised by President Zelensky who said it sent “a powerful signal to the whole world”.

In his daily address to the Ukrainian people, he said: “Either Russia will respect international law and not wage wars, or it will have no money.”

Mr Shapps, however, said there would inevitably be economic consequences which would affect people in Britain.

He told LBC: “We are not, fortunately for us, in a position of having air raids and seeing – literally – our children die on the street, the terrible pictures we are seeing in Ukraine.

“Everyone wants to help, we need to stem the flow of Putin’s gas and oil blood money from funding his war machine, so I think it’s right to cut off their oil.

“But there is an impact, it’s a global impact. We have already seen very high price rises.”

His comments came as it emerged that ministers were considering steps that could lead to a fracking rethink in the UK as they look to develop alternative sources of energy supply.

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, for shale gas has been under a moratorium for more than two years but the move could allow the sites to be opened up at a later date.

Further details are expected when the Government publishes its energy supply strategy in the coming weeks – although it is likely to face fierce opposition from climate change campaigners.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in